Yesterday saw Jose Enrique return to training with his two amigos Coloccini and Gutierrez. Sporting a new hairstyle, Enrique seemed to be enjoying the return to the daily training routine, and looked comfortable in his surroundings. The question is, how long will he be around for?
Anyone who's watched Enrique regularly in the last two seasons knows that he's a quality player. Watching wingers trying to take him on in the Championship was almost embarassing at times, and he carried that form into Newcastle's return to the Premier League. He's easily the best fullback at the club, there's no doubt that he could easily play at the highest level. Which is a problem for Newcastle.
With one year left on his deal, Enrique's situation presents something of a dilemma for the Newcastle management. Last season, Enrique said that he'd wait until we were safe before negotiating a new deal. It's now July, and he remains unenthusiastic. With Liverpool and Arsenal now in the hunt for a new left-back, and reports from Spain that Guardiola would like another option to compete with the defensively-suspect Maxwell and the ageing Abidal, it seems unlikely that Enrique will stay long-term.
The question is this: should Newcastle cash-in now and get a replacement, or get another year of service from him with the likelihood that he'll leave on a free transfer? If we're to sell him, it needs to happen soon, giving us time to get a replacement (the Toulouse left-back Cheick M'Bengue has been heavily linked, along with Swansea's Neil Taylor). If he does go, I would hope to get a sizeable fee. Gael Clichy just went to Man City for 7 million, and he's inferior to Enrique in every department.
Thursday 7 July 2011
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Pardew: 'We're Stronger than Last Season'
Alan Pardew was a guest on Radio Newcastle last night. Among several interesting comments, one thing he said is that he thinks the squad is stronger now than last season. I'm not so sure.
If you compare the current squad to the one we had at the end of last season then he's right: we've replaced Nolan, Campbell and Kuqi with Marveaux, Cabaye and Ba. However, this comparison is a bit misleading, and the reason for this is that a much more useful comparison is between the squad now and the squad when it was at its strongest last season.
Without Andy Carroll in the first half of the season, we would have struggled hugely. Whilst Best, Ameobi and Lovenkrands did a reasonable job of filling his boots after January, the harsh reality is that none of them or anywhere near his level. Even with Carroll at the club, we needed another forward, with him gone, we're now desperate. Ba is a promising signing, but he's not going to have the same impact that Carroll would have were he still here. Selling him will only make sense if we're prepared to invest the money, even if that means paying a big fee. Sturridge, anyone?
If you compare the current squad to the one we had at the end of last season then he's right: we've replaced Nolan, Campbell and Kuqi with Marveaux, Cabaye and Ba. However, this comparison is a bit misleading, and the reason for this is that a much more useful comparison is between the squad now and the squad when it was at its strongest last season.
Without Andy Carroll in the first half of the season, we would have struggled hugely. Whilst Best, Ameobi and Lovenkrands did a reasonable job of filling his boots after January, the harsh reality is that none of them or anywhere near his level. Even with Carroll at the club, we needed another forward, with him gone, we're now desperate. Ba is a promising signing, but he's not going to have the same impact that Carroll would have were he still here. Selling him will only make sense if we're prepared to invest the money, even if that means paying a big fee. Sturridge, anyone?
Monday 4 July 2011
Pre-season Is Here!
It's only really been a few weeks since the end of last season, but now pre-season is already upon us, as one batch of first-team players made their way to training today for inspection by Derek Wright and co., with more due in tomorrow. For Fulham fans, the season has already started (with a comfortable 3-0 win over those giants of Faroe Islands football Nes Soknar Itrottarfelag), but for those clubs without the dubious honour of participating in the opening rounds of the Europa League, there's still a month to go before the first competitive matches.
The transfer window has only actually been open for four days, but already there have been some interesting movements in the transfer market, and few clubs have been more active than Newcastle, drafting in an influx of French talent Yohan Cabaye, Sylvaine Marveaux, Demba Ba (who plays for Senegal but was born in Paris), and young talent Mehdi Abeid. Rumours of snails and frogs legs appearing on the menu at the training-ground canteen are unconfirmed.
Despite these positive moves, some lingering doubts remain. Who will replace Nolan's goals and leadership? Will the Carroll money be properly reinvested in the team, and will Carroll himself be properly replaced (as far as that is possible)? Will Enrique and Barton stay for one more season?
It's a promising start, but there's a long way to go yet.
Despite these positive moves, some lingering doubts remain. Who will replace Nolan's goals and leadership? Will the Carroll money be properly reinvested in the team, and will Carroll himself be properly replaced (as far as that is possible)? Will Enrique and Barton stay for one more season?
It's a promising start, but there's a long way to go yet.
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